Seriously one of my top 10 concerts - he really is from another planet talent-wise. India Arie on Saturn was beyond beautiful - why she was never bigger remains a mystery.

SchlomoThaHomo said:

He murdered it tonight! I will post some pics and video when I get to a computer but oh my god if you like Stevie, and you like Songs in the Key of Life, please do yourself a favor and go see this show. Best concert I will ever see hands-down.

So glad to hear this! I can't wait to hear him perform one of my all time favorite albums live next month! Glad to know he's in such good form--looking forward to your pics and videos.

I'm going to the concert in Chicago. Can't wait! Did he play the album in sequence?

does he sing all the lyrics or does he have other "guest" singers?

Wow,sounds like a killer performance!! I am beyond ecstatic that Stevie is doing this tour.SITKOL is my absolute favorite album! An entire show devoted to this classic album...that's just so cool!!!

SoulAlive said:

Wow,sounds like a killer performance!! I am beyond ecstatic that Stevie is doing this tour.SITKOL is my absolute favorite album! An entire show devoted to this classic album...that's just so cool!!!

-

Yup, it would be even more cool if they record it and release it on DVD/Blue Ray later.

jasminejoey said:

I'm going to the concert in Chicago. Can't wait! Did he play the album in sequence?

Please come back and write about the experience afterward. I was pondering going to the Chicago show, too, but I ended up having to work. He does play the album in sequence, except As and Another Star are moved to the end instead of their normal album placement.

Delete

[Edited 11/13/14 6:48am]

1ststatestereo said:

does he sing all the lyrics or does he have other "guest" singers?

He has 6 backup singers, one of which is his daughter, Aisha (from Isn't She Lovely), and another is his pregnant fiancee (?). India Arie came out to duet with him on Saturn (INCREDIBLE!!!), and maybe one or two more songs. But he does all the lead work just like on the album. The only time someone took over lead vocals was on Summer Soft, when Stevie became too emotional to keep singing. Tears were streaming down his face as his back up singer finished the next verse. Unbelievable moment.

[Edited 11/13/14 6:49am]

Forgive the shoddy pics and videos. I wasn't intending on posting them anywhere, just to text to friends.

SPOILER ALERT!!

Shortly after 8PM, the lights went down, and India Arie brought Stevie out to thunderous applause. He explained that he always regretted not being able to tour for SITKOL, and that the reason he started the tour in NYC was because that is where the album started. Maybe he recorded it there? After the short intro, Stevie was led to his keyboard console and the opening chords of Love's In Need Of Love Today. I became emotional a few times during this song because it was just that great, and also because it was taking me back to the first time I heard the record.

A few more stand-out moments for me:

Village Ghetto Land - Performed with a full string section, in lieu of the synths on the album version. Fantastic! The strings didn't play too much throughout the show, but they looked absolutely elated to be there, grinning from ear to ear like the rest of the musicians on stage.

Contusion - Stevie mentioned he wrote this after his car accident, as a tribute to Chick Corea. I always viewed it as the song you have to sit through to get to Sir Duke, but I gained a new appreciation for it after hearing it live. Stevie and the band really stretched out on a lot of these songs and gave them new life.

The Sir Duke-I Wish-Knocks Me Off My Feet-Pastime Paradise block of classics/fan favorites really brought down the house, and had me thinking maybe the concert was peaking too early, but oh no no.

Summer Soft - One of my personal favorites from the album and one of my favorite performances of the evening. Stevie became too emotional to keep singing after the first chorus, and a background singer had to take over for him while he continued to play the keys with tears streaming down his face. Heart-wrenching!

Saturn - This fully fleshed out version, with India Arie doing harmonies, and I think one of the verses, gave me new appreciation for the song, and was a definite highlight for me. It was poignant to listen to these lyrics from nearly 40 years ago realizing that they unfortunately still resonate today.

Joy Inside My Tears - Stevie became emotional again but was able to pull it together and pour the emotion into the performance. During one of the final choruses, he stood up and started banging on the top of his piano during the "You, you, you..." part, with the mic picking up the sound. It felt like such a raw moment.

Ngiculela - Es Una Historia - I Am Singing - Another song that I didn't fully appreciate until hearing his incredible band bring it to life. I looked over at the main floor during this one, and saw an older guy with shaggy white hair, probably in his 70s, standing up and dancing by himself, shouting every lyric back to Stevie. That must have been his jam back in the day and he didn't care who knew it.

I could keep going and post my thoughts on every song but I'm realizing as I write this that it's going to get redundant because the whole damn thing was just incredible.

And the band! Full string section, full horn section, three keyboard players (not including Stevie), one of which was Greg Phillinganes (!!!), two guitarists, two drummers, a percussionist, a bassist, a harmonica player (Frederic Yonnet), and six backup singers. There were moments when it was just the sheer force of the band that moved me.

We are so lucky to be alive at the same time as this genius! Go see this show!!

Went to the Boston show a couple of nights ago. Was FLOORED. It's unfair for someone to be that talented

Musicslave said:

SoulAlive said:

Wow,sounds like a killer performance!! I am beyond ecstatic that Stevie is doing this tour.SITKOL is my absolute favorite album! An entire show devoted to this classic album...that's just so cool!!!

-

Yup, it would be even more cool if they record it and release it on DVD/Blue Ray later.

I hope so,too

I saw Stevie last night in Philadephia. Man, what a fantastic show! He was even better than when I first saw him in Baltimore back in '07. Every song from the album shined; after all, there's a reason it's a classic. My favorite tracks, "Ngiculela/Es Una Historia/I Am Singing" and "Summer Soft" were pure magic.

What really floored me is I think we've finally found the album's correct running order some 38 years later. The first two bonus tracks ("Saturn" and "Ebony Eyes") followed "Ordinary Pain" to conclude Side 1. I know there are versions that were like this before the CD rerelease years back. (If you don't take a break between the two sides, I also think "Ebony Eyes" is a better lead-in to "Isn't She Lovely" than "Ordinary Pain" is.) On the other hand, moving the other two ("All Day Sucker" and "Easy Goin' Evening") to the middle of Side 2 was positively revelatory! The transitions from "Black Man" to the former and the latter into "Ngiculela" both fit like hand in glove. "Easy Goin' Evening" effectively becomes both a false ending and a regrouping before the drums bring in the home stretch. The 1-2 punch of "As" and "Another Star" is the only way this album should close. If you've never heard it like this, try it — you're in for a real treat!

AlexdeParis said:

I saw Stevie last night in Philadephia. Man, what a fantastic show! He was even better than when I first saw him in Baltimore back in '07. Every song from the album shined; after all, there's a reason it's a classic. My favorite tracks, "Ngiculela/Es Una Historia/I Am Singing" and "Summer Soft" were pure magic.

What really floored me is I think we've finally found the album's correct running order some 38 years later. The first two bonus tracks ("Saturn" and "Ebony Eyes") followed "Ordinary Pain" to conclude Side 1. I know there are versions that were like this before the CD rerelease years back. (If you don't take a break between the two sides, I also think "Ebony Eyes" is a better lead-in to "Isn't She Lovely" than "Ordinary Pain" is.) On the other hand, moving the other two ("All Day Sucker" and "Easy Goin' Evening") to the middle of Side 2 was positively revelatory! The transitions from "Black Man" to the former and the latter into "Ngiculela" both fit like hand in glove. "Easy Goin' Evening" effectively becomes both a false ending and a regrouping before the drums bring in the home stretch. The 1-2 punch of "As" and "Another Star" is the only way this album should close. If you've never heard it like this, try it — you're in for a real treat!

The extra songs weren't on the 4 sides of the album, they were on a 7" 45 that came with it. I don't know what order they were in on the 8-track, reel-to-reel, and cassette. 8-tracks often had a different running order than the other formats anyway and sometimes had short interludes to fill up space.

MickyDolenz said:

AlexdeParis said:

I saw Stevie last night in Philadephia. Man, what a fantastic show! He was even better than when I first saw him in Baltimore back in '07. Every song from the album shined; after all, there's a reason it's a classic. My favorite tracks, "Ngiculela/Es Una Historia/I Am Singing" and "Summer Soft" were pure magic.

What really floored me is I think we've finally found the album's correct running order some 38 years later. The first two bonus tracks ("Saturn" and "Ebony Eyes") followed "Ordinary Pain" to conclude Side 1. I know there are versions that were like this before the CD rerelease years back. (If you don't take a break between the two sides, I also think "Ebony Eyes" is a better lead-in to "Isn't She Lovely" than "Ordinary Pain" is.) On the other hand, moving the other two ("All Day Sucker" and "Easy Goin' Evening") to the middle of Side 2 was positively revelatory! The transitions from "Black Man" to the former and the latter into "Ngiculela" both fit like hand in glove. "Easy Goin' Evening" effectively becomes both a false ending and a regrouping before the drums bring in the home stretch. The 1-2 punch of "As" and "Another Star" is the only way this album should close. If you've never heard it like this, try it — you're in for a real treat!

The extra songs weren't on the 4 sides of the album, they were on a 7" 45 that came with it. I don't know what order they were in on the 8-track, reel-to-reel, and cassette. 8-tracks often had a different running order than the other formats anyway and sometimes had short interludes to fill up space.

Yeah, I know how the vinyl was released. The 8 track was apparently all jacked up. See here: http://www.discogs.com/St...se/1880731

The cassette apparently put "Saturn" and "Ebony Eyes" after "Black Man" and then put the other two on the end. One version of the CD put all 4 additional tracks after "Another Star" at the end while another puts the first 2 at the end of the first side and the other 2 at the end of the second.

AlexdeParis said:

MickyDolenz said:

The extra songs weren't on the 4 sides of the album, they were on a 7" 45 that came with it. I don't know what order they were in on the 8-track, reel-to-reel, and cassette. 8-tracks often had a different running order than the other formats anyway and sometimes had short interludes to fill up space.

Yeah, I know how the vinyl was released. The 8 track was apparently all jacked up. See here: http://www.discogs.com/St...se/1880731

The cassette apparently put "Saturn" and "Ebony Eyes" after "Black Man" and then put the other two on the end. One version of the CD put all 4 additional tracks after "Another Star" at the end while another puts the first 2 at the end of the first side and the other 2 at the end of the second.

The Blu-ray audio version seems to leave off the 4 songs from the 45. That's kind of weird since I guess it has more space than a CD.

MickyDolenz said:

AlexdeParis said:

Yeah, I know how the vinyl was released. The 8 track was apparently all jacked up. See here: http://www.discogs.com/St...se/1880731

The cassette apparently put "Saturn" and "Ebony Eyes" after "Black Man" and then put the other two on the end. One version of the CD put all 4 additional tracks after "Another Star" at the end while another puts the first 2 at the end of the first side and the other 2 at the end of the second.

The Blu-ray audio version seems to leave off the 4 songs from the 45. That's kind of weird since I guess it has more space than a CD.

That's a criminal omission, but I need to buy that anyway

I'm going on the last date of the tour (Seattle). My first time at a SW concert!

Going to the Detroit show on Thursday, looking forward to it.

.

Last time I saw SW was his birthday in 2011, when he came out and sang with Prince and Janelle Monae in LA. Was quite a treat.

dustoff said:

Going to the Detroit show on Thursday, looking forward to it.

.

Last time I saw SW was his birthday in 2011, when he came out and sang with Prince and Janelle Monae in LA. Was quite a treat.

-

I envy you!

dustoff said:

SchlomoThaHomo said:

Went to the Chicago show and it was superb, especially Summer Soft, Ordinary Pain and Another Star.

I have a feeling this tour will not be edited for a video release because he is wearing different outfits each night, and there seems to be some glitches during each show from what I've seen on Youtube. Usually the band members will have similar positions and outfits each night to make the edits seamless. It would be a great live album/video to own though. However, it seems like its more about the music. The band is huge and the string section and horns really bring the album to life.

His other albums are so great it would be amazing to see him just take those classics on the road one day as well.

In an interview, he said his album 'When The World Began' will be re-interpretations of some of his classics. I know people will be torn on that idea, but given Stevie's talent I'll just be glad to have something to listen to.. if it ever comes out. He's also supposedly working on Through The Eyes of Wonder still which will be original music. But that's four album names he's dropped since A Time To Love (along with Ten Billion Hearts and The Gospel Inspired By Lula). Seems like now is as good a time as any to release some new music.

[Edited 11/18/14 23:15pm]

I saw the show in Philly, and was stunned !! The whole show was amazing , but when he sang "Pastime Paradise" with the strings, Choir , and all that was going on, I WAS DONE!! I didnt know whether to laugh, cry, or what.... I dont know if he has ever done that song live before!! Except for a little piece with that rapper.........

Mutts.....

PS This was THE FIRST ALBUM that I ever bought and to see all of the tracks performed live was and still is an amazing thing for me, Im just blown away.....

muttley said:

I saw the show in Philly, and was stunned !! The whole show was amazing , but when he sang "Pastime Paradise" with the strings, Choir , and all that was going on, I WAS DONE!! I didnt know whether to laugh, cry, or what.... I dont know if he has ever done that song live before!! Except for a little piece with that rapper.........

Mutts.....

PS This was THE FIRST ALBUM that I ever bought and to see all of the tracks performed live was and still is an amazing thing for me, Im just blown away.....

Nice. U are making want 2 go check out this show.

Graycap23 said:

muttley said:

I saw the show in Philly, and was stunned !! The whole show was amazing , but when he sang "Pastime Paradise" with the strings, Choir , and all that was going on, I WAS DONE!! I didnt know whether to laugh, cry, or what.... I dont know if he has ever done that song live before!! Except for a little piece with that rapper.........

Mutts.....

PS This was THE FIRST ALBUM that I ever bought and to see all of the tracks performed live was and still is an amazing thing for me, Im just blown away.....

Nice. U are making want 2 go check out this show.

Better hurry--he done sold out!

I,too caught Stevie Wonder's concert in Philadelphia this past Sunday.The band and Stevie were great and on point!I can't wait for the video and cd release of the SITKOL live shows.I hope to see a documentary film of interviews,and of course the concerts mixed in with newer and older footage!!!